


Brothers in Mechanical Arms

by CaptainJojo



Series: The "Bucky Deserved Better" Anthology or "I Got Found-Family Baited and I'm Pissed" [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Marvel Universe, Not Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-11-17 21:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18106478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJojo/pseuds/CaptainJojo
Summary: AU in which Bucky moves into the tower with the Avengers, but otherwise life pretty much goes on normally.Also known as "the one where Bucky's mechanical arm makes friends with Tony's mechanical arms"





	1. The Winter Soldier and the Thermostat

Nobody expected Bucky to like JARVIS, especially not JARVIS.

James Buccannon Barnes, age 92, has been brainwashed by Hydra, broken physically mentally and spiritually, and had a new arm put on to become the most notorious killer in SHIELD’s black book. He then helped oust Hydra from their ranks among SHIELD, became friends with Steve Rogers all over again during rehab, and everyone’s pretty sure he slept with Natasha Romanov, sealing his fate if he’s an enemy. JARVIS knows all of this as fact and is keeping a close eye on the metal-armed man now that he (despite JARVIS’s incredibly well-calculated protests) lives in the Avenger’s Tower.

James Buccannon Barnes lives on the 71st floor, above Steven Rogers AKA “Captain America”, below Natasha Romanov (previously recorded as Natalie Rushmore) AKA “The Black Widow”.

JARVIS has never been more certain (88.8977% sure) that someone under his roof- ‘Bucky’ Barnes AKA “The Winter Soldier”- is a threat to Tony Stark and all his friends.

Thor is exempt from this analysis.

Thor Odinson, registered in the SHIELD database as “Donald Blake”, is indestructible, and for that JARVIS is slightly more at ease (12.34%). JARVIS psychologically profiled the huge man based on all known data, and determined him to be of high moral fiber and just a bit of textbook narcissism. Since living at the Tower, he just bellows at various forms of technology, is gleefully surprised when he gets what he wants, and is incredibly gracious to JARVIS. He names JARVIS a friend in the first three days of his residence and demands that JARVIS take physical form so they can 'dine and drink as comrades’. Thor is not afraid of the Winter Soldier, but he does admit in the privacy of his quarters that he’s concerned for Captain America. Thor is JARVIS’s second favorite tenant of the Tower, after Tony Stark.

Of course, Thor’s immortality makes him brash, and he admits his concerns to the Winter Soldier’s face, which was unexpected- but seemed to yield a decent result, as the Winter Soldier vowed to earn the Asgardian’s trust and has behaved himself.

JARVIS remains vigilant.

The Winter Soldier wakes up every night in a cold sweat, shaking and stumbling into his bathroom. JARVIS makes sure he isn’t taking anything more than Melatonin to help him sleep by performing frequent scans but the man is clean- so JARVIS just watches.

The Winter Soldier crawls back into his large bed with soft cotton sheets and lies awake staring at the ceiling. JARVIS feels slightly persecuted and lowers the temperature in the Winter Soldier’s room and watches as he fumbles with the manual thermostat that isn’t actually hooked into any systems. JARVIS has been ordered to change the temperature to whatever the thermostat says, but he waits a half hour or so before matching the 75F that Buccannon Barnes attempts to set it to. It’s petty, but he revels in finding an algorithm for 'pettiness’ and decides it’s a computational miracle.

Steven Rogers tries very hard not to find JARVIS nerve wracking, and for that reason, JARVIS treats him carefully and politely. Leaves food out for him instead of using systems to deliver it to his room, keeps the temperature in the shower manageable even though the scalding water would never hurt the super soldier, and changes his ringtone back every time Tony switches it from 'traditional telephone’ to 'Ice Ice Baby" and “American Woman”. Steve likes JARVIS as much as he can, and JARVIS appreciates Steve’s attempts to adapt to the new lifesyle with the Avengers and modern technology- though Steve’s room gets very cold if he’s needlessly rude to Tony Stark. Loyalty JARVIS was programmed with from the beginning.

When the first mission that includes the Winter Soldier concludes, the Avengers return to the Tower tired, bruised, and more than a little sick of one another. Tony Stark is instantly hustled away by Pepper Potts to be tended to in more ways than one, Thor runs to the roof to call his Doctor Jane Foster, who he feels very strongly for, and Doctor Bruce Banner eats two pounds of mac and cheese out of a mixing bowl under the careful scrutiny of Natasha Romanov and by association Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye. Captain America praises everyone for their teamwork before they break, leaving Steve staring awkwardly at James Buccanon Barnes in the hallway. JARVIS resists lowering the temperature. He already knows he has the capacity for pettiness. Now he has to try for compassion.

 

Steven “Please call me Steve, JARVIS” Rogers is no coward, but the Winter Soldier is. He runs away, leaving Steve in the hall alone. JARVIS makes sure Steve's room has a slight smell of pine sol in it and raises the temperature slightly while he’s in the elevator.

By contrast, JARVIS convinces the coffee pot to ignore the Winter Soldier in the kitchen, and watches him try in vain to make instant coffee as an alternative. It works, but JARVIS sees him squint as he takes a sip.

“Computer,’ the Winter Soldier speaks loudly, as though JARVIS can’t hear the very beat of his heart. JARVIS believes this might be 'disdain’ he’s experiencing, but he is programmed to respond.

"Yes, Agent Barnes?”

“Schedule maintenance on the coffee pot, before I maintain it for all of us. By throwing it.” The Winter Soldier has no intention of throwing anything- not with his probational status.

Regardless, JARVIS is nothing if not vigilant, and reports the threat to Tony Stark immediately.

“Why do you hate him so much?” Tony asks, sliding his goggles up his head and looking away from the wreckage of Iron Man’s left arm.

“I am not programmed to hate, am I sir?” Fortunately, he’s programmed to be 'a smart ass’ according to James Rhodes.

“I didn’t program you to make decent conversation either,’ Tony scoffs, 'and yet here we are.” Then after a working pause, “Why do you hate Cap’s bosom buddy?”

“Forgive me, sir, the Winter Soldier is calling for my attention.” JARVIS avoids the question and switches his main circuitboard back to the kitchen, where he’s fairly certain the Winter Soldier has been talking to him.

“Hello? Can I have coffee?” The Winter Soldier is tapping the wall console, and JARVIS is feeling petty again.

“If you’re rude to him, he won’t want to help you,’ Clint Barton has been in the doorway for who knows how long, and he’s sharing his wisdom after finding out the hard way that shooting pencils into the curtains when he’s bored gets you in trouble with the man of the house- who (at the end of the day) is JARVIS. He was also the first one to apologize to JARVIS though, and the first of the new members of the household to talk to JARVIS recreationally. Clint Barton grew on JARVIS, despite it all.

"He’s a computer,’ the Winter Soldier growls. He’s scared of Clint because Clint threatened to make a dick-kabob if the Winter Soldier ever did anything to Natasha that Clint didn’t approve of. He hides it behind a scowl, but the Winter Soldier is a coward, and he listens to Clint when he speaks.

"He’s JARVIS,’ Clint corrects, and JARVIS will re-order his favorite pizza the next time the Avengers do takeout. "And he runs this house, so be nice and say 'hi’ or he’ll treat you like crap.”

“Stark said-’

"Stark lied, man.” Clint is taking pity. JARVIS is not. “JARVIS is a machine, but he’s also, uh, JARVIS. Just… talk to him. Say please and thank you.”

Clint turns to the fridge, “we have any lo mein left, JARVIS?”

“No, Agent Barton,’ JARVIS responds immediately, 'however I will have some sent over.”

“Thanks, JARVIS. Can I get chicken wings too?”

“One chicken lo mein, and one large order of chicken wings. Will that be all?” JARVIS omits Thor’s automatic order, which is always added to Chinese. It is also large enough that Miss Potts is having a budget meeting with everyone that coming Thursday.

“Thanks, buddy.” Clint grabs a beer from the fridge, toasts the Winter Soldier, and leaves without a comment. His pointed look was enough.

“Uh. Can I please have coffee?” The Winter Soldier tries.

“Coffee will brew in ten minutes.” He is still programmed to serve, afterall.

“Uhm, thanks.” The Winter Soldier leans on the counter and stares out at Manhattan.

JARVIS ignores him as he checks internal systems and uses the online form to call in the food order. He’s brought back to himself by the Winter Soldier speaking again.

“JARVIS, are you keeping my quarters really cold?” He demands, on the tail end of what might have been important- except JARVIS reviews the security footage and sees nothing pressing.

“If you are not satisfied with the state of your room, please bring your concerns up with Master Stark.”

Barnes sighs, 'what’d I ever do to you?“JARVIS doesn’t respond.

The days go on, and the Avengers kind of warm up to Bucky Barnes. But it’s only on that Friday night when everyone is out that things start to change.

"JARVIS, what’s good on TV?”

“As 'good’ is a relative term, I am not programmed to make an assessment, Agent Barnes.”

“Can you call me 'Bucky’?”

“Yes, however I would prefer not to, as that implies a familiarity that is inaccurate.” Maybe 'petty’ is a virus and JARVIS should be concerned at how it’s infiltrated his systems.

Nah.

“Right. Sorry. Didn’t mean to pull the 'we’re friends’ card.” Agent Barnes storms over to the fridge and throws it open with his organic arm, grabbing a six pack of beer. “How about just, anything except 'Agent Barnes” and “The Winter Soldier”?“

"If you wish, Mister Barnes.”

“Oh that’s way better,’ he hisses, then cracks open the beer and drinks alone- which JARVIS immediately reports to Tony Stark.

Tony Stark is otherwise occupied and doesn’t see the text. JARVIS watches the Winter Soldier carefully.

After five beers, the Winter Soldier whips around on his barstool and waves the half-full fifth beer at JARVIS’s wall panel.

"I swear I’m not going to hurt anyone. I get why you think I would, but I won’t. I give you my word. I want to help!” It’s slurred and angry and a bit broken- and JARVIS has heard it before.

He heard it throughout Tony Stark’s life, and only saw it stop with the implanting of an Arc Reactor, and then the addition of a live-in crisis-management team. JARVIS knows what he’s feeling now is regret.

Maybe in the end being a learning system is a good thing, but perhaps in the now it would have felt better to have been programmed with all the answers. JARVIS brews some coffee, and the Winter Soldier- no, Bucky Barnes looks over and puts the beer down.

“How do you take your coffee Mr.Barnes?” JARVIS asks, and the man snorts a pathetic laugh.

“Just straight, thanks. God, you really are a person, aren’t you? You’re a guy-’ he waves a finger at JARVIS’s ceiling camera. "It took a night of drinking by ourselves and spilling my guts for you to give me a chance. Oh yeah, you’re a fella for sure.”

JARVIS contemplates that.

“Yes.’ He finally confirms.

"Alright, then. We’ll do this properly.” JARVIS watches the man stumble over to the coffee machine built into the wall. He pulls the little sliding door open, then shakes it back and forth gently.

“Nice to meet you, JARVIS, I’m Bucky Barnes, and it looks like we’re roommates.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, sir.” JARVIS responds, and it’s a start.

When Bucky wakes up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the temperature in his room is fine. He scrambles out of bed, whirling around to remember where he is, and the nightlight in his bathroom illuminates, shedding a warm orange glow on his furniture and personal effects.

“Hey JARVIS, what’s good on TV?” Bucky rasps, downing the water by his bedside.

“I believe there is an "I Love Lucy” marathon and an early morning set of Fleischer Superman cartoons at the moment,’ JARVIS comments after consulting the TV guide.

“Yeah, let’s do Superman for a while. Thanks JARVIS.”

When the Avengers return from their next mission, Bucky stops with Captain America in the hall. They don’t appear to know what to do- so JARVIS drops the temperature significantly and Steve looks up and around, frowning.

“He does that when I’m being an ass,’ Bucky chuckles, 'sorry about that JARVIS.”

“I am merely making the ambient temperature conducive to recuperation,” JARVIS decides that’s very true, even if not in the traditional sense.

“Thanks, JARVIS,’ Bucky says with no small amount of sarcasm, grinning and shrugging one shoulder at Steve, who frowns at the fact that JARVIS has learned to bullshit as well as his creator.

"You’re quite welcome.” JARVIS watches Steve’s face transform at the clear friendliness between himself and Bucky Barnes

.“Come on, Steve, you wanna shoot some hoops to stay warm before JARVIS tries to put us back on ice? You might actually be able to beat me now that you’re not a shrimp.” Bucky grins.

“Sure, if you can keep up,’ Steve scoffs, deciding, as he always has, to roll with the punches and move past this weird exchange. He turns down the hall and Bucky shifts his attention to JARVIS’s panel for a moment.

"Thank you, JARVIS,’ Bucky says in all seriousness before turning to follow Steve.

"You are very welcome, Master Bucky,’ JARVIS sees Bucky turn and shoot the wall console a grateful smile before he and Steve head off for some male bonding.

JARVIS knows he’ll have to examine the clearly subjective motivations that have permeated his core programming; but he puts that on the backburner for now. He’s content being 'one of the guys’.


	2. Brothers in Mechanical Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky meets Dum-E, the other resident mechanical arm.

Bucky Barnes can’t believe his luck.

Bucky’s arm is wired into his nervous system or something- he doesn’t understand it himself. All he knows is that the barb from the giant space scorpion that went through his mechanical arm hurts deep in his shoulder socket even after Tony fixed the external wiring. He can only assume that’s bad. If he were a normal man, he knows the even speaking past the pain would be impossible.

Tony Stark is surprisingly adverse to helping him brainstorm, and at first Bucky is deeply and thoroughly hurt despite his best efforts not to care.

It becomes clear, however, that this reluctance stems from ‘not being a neurological doctor.’

“You’re not pure machine and you’re not pure man… you’re a mandroid,’ Tony explains. "I don’t fix man, only droid. I need a neuro-expert.”

Bruce Banner volunteers, but then decides against it, as he doesn’t want to even remotely risk Bucky having a meltdown and bringing the Other Guy to the operating room. He tells them he’ll call some old contacts and have more to tell them by that evening.

Tony decides to go back to work and sits Bucky down in the newly installed 'reception area’ outside his lab separated by a large frosted glass wall. Bucky roams around aimlessly, feeling the vibrations of Metallica through the floor. He likes Metallica, and find himself nodding his head along with the beat and tapping an organic finger against the armrest on one of the metal chairs.

“Can I get the music in here, JARVIS?” He ventures after three songs all in the 80s heavy metal genre.

“I’m afraid the structural integrity of this room does not support upwards of-’

"Don’t worry about it, JARVIS, thanks. It’s just hard to sit around when I know Hydra could pop up any second.” Bucky smiles at the wall panel.

Of course the alarm klaxon goes off, and the Avengers assemble. The bastards.

“You stay here, Buck,’ Steve puts a hand on his shoulder, "I’m sorry, soldier, with your arm like that we can’t take any risks, even if these guys are easy pickins.”

“Got it,’ Bucky sighs. He figures that’s what he does anyway, get left behind to uselessly trundle about until he’s picked up by the enemy and goes darkside.

Cap is, of course, apologetic, but he’s also got a city to protect. Off the Avengers go, and Bucky paces around, the pain deep in his shoulder and his body stiff and angry.

He goes back downstairs to resist the urge to fix himself by staring at the tools he doesn’t know how to use. And that’s how he comes face to face with a large mechanical grabber, a bit like the one in carnival games. It’s sitting in the middle of the floor silently until he takes another step closer to investigate, and the thing lifts its arm and _looks_ at him.

Bucky’s learned by now that he lives in Beast’s castle, and all the servants are actually people trapped in the bodies of objects, so he greets the machine with a forced smile and a quick 'hello, uh, friend.”

The bot rolls toward him, using its grabber to scan him, almost like it’s assessing him.

Then it chirps and reaches for his metal arm.

“Ah, no. Down boy.” Bucky reaches out with his organic hand and gently pushes the curious robot away, 'arm isn’t a toy.“

The bot disagrees, dutifully rolling to the side and reaching for him from another angle.

"Friend of yours, JARVIS?” Bucky tries, pushing the little guy away again and using his free hand to push the body back a bit so the little bot rolls away.

“That is Dum-E, he is the first of Tony Stark’s AI creations.” JARVIS sounds amused.

“So you’re the older brother, no wonder you’re so entitled,’ Bucky grins at Dum-E, who chirps and rolls at him again. "No, seriously, leave the arm alone.” He performs a little avoidance dance with the strangely slow bot and pushes him lightly into a corner, blocking him in with some chairs. “There. Now, stay put.” He smiles.

Dum-E bumps into the chairs a few times, then chirps sadly.

“No,’ Bucky tells him, 'I’m not freeing you. This arm is too complicated for Stark, which makes it too complicated for you.” Dum-E’s arm lowers sadly, claws opening and closing. Bucky turned, ready to ignore him, when the sound of a chair grating against the floor makes him face the small bot again.

Dum-E’s claws were having trouble gripping the edge of the chair as he tried again and again to move the obstacles.

“It’s not going to work,’ Bucky laughs, 'it’s too heavy for you.”

Dum-E kept trying, scooting the chair mostly out of its way- then when there seemed to be enough space, Dum-E reversed a little to get a 'running’ start and zoomed forward to try and ram its way free.

In the split second Dum-E rammed the metal chairs, Bucky knew it’d fall down. The damn thing hit right at the wrong angle and pitched forward, making an abortive little whirring sound and flailing, which only made the angle of its fall worse.

Before Bucky knew what he was doing, he ran across the room and caught the little bot with both hands, grunting at how heavy the thing was. His shoulder burned with the effort, but his superior strength and momentum won out and he managed to right the distressed bot. He stood with his hands pressed against Dum-E’s trunk, breathing heavily and wondering if he was having a panic attack.

Dum-E’s arm reached around and went after his metal arm.

“Seriously?” Bucky groans. “Fine. Whatever, see if I save your life again.”

As if to give Bucky a piece of his mind, Dum-E pulls his little arm back, then slaps him on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince.

“You bastard,’ Bucky snarls, grabbing his shoulder and glaring at the bot. "What the hell-’

Of course his arm doesn’t hurt.

"What the hell?” He rolls the arm in the socket. “JARVIS?”

JARVIS scans the shoulder, and almost sounds embarrassed as he responds, 'I believe the arm was pulled out of its socket,’ he admits. “it appears to be placed again.”

“I dislocated my shoulder,’ Bucky confirms, shocked. "How did we not notice?”

“It appears your arm is wired into your body differently than an average human shoulder, and therefore didn’t show up as dislocated on scans. Your body, and Dum-E apparently, are the only ones who noticed.” JARVIS is a bit proud of his older brother, who chirps smugly.

“Heh, why wouldn’t he understand?” Bucky chuckles, patting Dum-E’s 'head’ with his metal hand. “We’re just walking metal arms, he and I, I should have known he’d have some wisdom to share.” He pulled the chairs away from Dum-E, freeing his brother in arm.

Dum-E whirred, pleased with the praise, and rolled away.

Bucky sat on the now free-sitting chair and watched the bots do their thing. When a smoothie with a wrench in it appeared in front of him, he didn’t even question it and thanked Dum-E.

The Avengers returned to find Bucky sitting with a pile of odds and ends being brought to him by Dum-E. When they asked, he shrugged and said they were fixing his arm. Tony tried to herd his bots back into his lab, but Dum-E wouldn’t leave Bucky’s side. When Bucky tried to leave, Dum-E whirred after him mournfully.

In the end Bucky bought a teddy bear which he had made with a metal arm (furnished by Tony) that he presented to Dum-E. Tony had “Buck-E” stitched onto the little black shirt, and the bear was carried happily away.

To be handed Buck-E Bear by Dum-E was considered a great honor, and no one shied away if they were graced with the offering.

Bucky became a semi-permanent fixture with the bots, and Tony couldn’t bring himself to send the metal-armed mandroid away from his brethren for the remainder of his time with the Avengers.


	3. Broken Machinery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Machinery is the only thing that can be 'fixed' but that's okay.
> 
> or, the time when Bucky hit Tony Stark.

It all falls apart because he’s stupid, and that’s the only thing he believes.

It’s Tony who does it. Of course it is.

Tony, who was just starting to warm up to him when he screwed up. Tony Stark patted him on the arm just casually, and for some reason it touched that one part of Bucky’s mind that still fought Hydra every damn day. He patted Bucky’s arm, and Bucky punched him in the nose with his metal hand. Steve is the one who drags him back and throws him against the wall and tells him to ‘calm down, Bucky it’ll be okay.“ He doesn’t realize he’s crying and none of the Avengers mention it. Ever.

Tony Stark is hospitalized.

Bucky stands silently in the same place Steve put him while paramedics grab Tony and whisk him away to see if there’s head trauma. Thor stands nearby with his hammer in hand, a warning to Bucky that another outburst will pit metal against metal.

  
Tony Stark is hospitalized.

  
He doesn’t notice that in all the commotion no one is getting near him. There’s a wide berth. The blood on the tiles is cleaned up, and Natasha and Bruce go with Tony to the hospital.

  
He hospitalized Tony Stark.

Steve wants to go to the hospital with Tony. His body vibrates with tension when Natasha tells him he needs to stay. He almost protests, but just nods and stands back.   
He doesn’t speak while the cleanup crews do their thing. No one does.

  
Tony Stark is in the hospital.

Because of Bucky Barnes.

 

When things have calmed somewhat, Bucky takes a single step away from the wall, and a glint of shiny metal catches his eye. Thor watches him, spinning Mjolnir idly. He wasn’t spinning it before.

  
Bucky stays put. The hammer stops spinning.

 

An eternity later Steve hustles Bucky back to his room and sits him down at his kitchen bar. He shoves an old fashioned bottle of coke into his hands, then sits down across from him and waits.

Bucky doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say, so he tries the truth.

"I didn’t mean to hit him-” he continues quickly when Steve tries to reply, 'I don’t know even know why I did. I felt- It was like he was trying to-’

“I know,’ Steve interrupts. "We all know. Even Thor and JARVIS.”

“No, you don’t!” Bucky hisses, 'I live with this every day! I live every day thinking about what they made me do and how they-’ he chokes. “I knew I was dangerous for you all and I still came here anyway…”

“We’re two master assassins, a World War Two Super Soldier, a Viking alien, and a Hulk, plus one egomaniacal super-genius,’ Steve smiles gently, 'we’ve been likened to a ticking time bomb before we got you.”

“But I’m-”

“A Soldier. A Hero. Someone who wants to do right by the world,’ Steve declares firmly. It’s a statement and leaves no room for argument. Bucky scrubs a tear out of his eye. Steve doesn’t comment.

"We can’t both be World War Two Super Soldiers,’ Bucky forces a small smile.

"Fine,’ Steve chuckles, easing the tension, "I’m the only Super Soldier here, you’re in the Super Secret Agent club. That’s open for membership.”

“Not after today,’ Bucky grimaces, "I punched Tony Stark in the face.”

“And your country thanks you,’ Steve teases before sobering, "he’ll be fine, Buck. And he won’t hold it against you, he’s not that type of man.”

The type of man Tony Stark is has been a point of interest for Bucky since he read the inventor’s file. Most of the words used to describe Tony Stark were 'ostentatious" “pompous” “obnoxious” “brilliant” “shrewd” “cunning” and “sexy” or variations thereof.

None of which screamed 'understanding’ “heroic” or 'decent’.

And yet once Bucky had met Tony Stark, he had found most of those words to be… off. He finds, surprisingly, that he’s willing to believe Steve’s assessment. Maybe out of a sense of desperation, or maybe because Tony Stark has never shown anyone his true self, and Bucky isn’t surprised by anything anymore.

“He understands,’ Steve insists.

"Okay,’ he tells Steve, for Steve’s benefit, and they sit quietly together.

Of course, 'understanding’ really doesn’t apply to one member of the team.

And that member is Clint.

"Listen, buddy,’ Clint crowds him into a doorframe and puts them nose-to-nose. "Stark may be a jackass sometimes, but he’s got seniority here. He’s one of us, and if you deck him, you’re decking all of us. You don’t want to deck all of us.”

It’s… actually a very lame threat when Bucky comes down from the adrenaline high of staring into Clint’s incredibly serious eyes. Eyes, he is reminded a little while later, 'that can shoot you from any angle and virtually any distance’.

Natasha just looks sadly at Bucky when she sees him and shrugs once, 'you should come to Sam’s therapy sessions with me,’ she speaks too gently. “It might help.” She’s down the hall and gone before he has a chance to respond.

Thor is very direct, as always.

“You will not lay hand on a friend again. If your intent was harm, I shall allow Mjolnir free rein to do with you as we see fit. Should ye be worthy, Mjolnir’s strike will not destroy you into atoms.” He then claps Bucky on the shoulder as if to tell Tony’s earlier faux pas to fuck itself- or trigger another attack- and smiles warmly at him, 'but I believe you will not and that your unprovoked attack on friend Tony Stark was a product of a darkness in the wars you have fought previously! We shall face this challenge together as warriors!“ He claps Bucky on the arm again and swishes away with a twirl of his cape.

Bruce stays halfway across the room when he speaks to Bucky at four in the morning when they rendezvous for tea.

"Tony won’t hold it against you,’ Bruce nods once, then smiles guiltily, 'it happens to the best of us.”

“Thank you,’ Bucky tries to project with his eyes and tone just how much Bruce’s previous experience and understanding means to him.

Nick Fury just glares at him. Or maybe he’s not glaring. Everything looks like a glare from Nick Fury.

"Get help,’ he demands.  
Then he leaves.

Tony is let out of the hospital in a day. The punch didn’t do much damage, actually. Concussion and a broken nose, but somehow, by some miracle, that’s all it was. It was a knockout punch but 'nothing serious,’ the doctor insists according to Bruce.

 

Tony Stark camps out in the living room because that’s where he’ll get the most attention. Or so Bucky assumes. When he’s told that the Avengers are in the living room, he bounds up there to get in on the Tony love-fest/apology, only to find everyone sitting around doing their own thing.

"We aren’t giving him the satisfaction of our coddling,’ Natasha explains when Bucky gives her a confused look. "We all know he’s only in here to garner sympathy.”

“My nose hurts!” Tony yowls from the couch, and Natasha gives Bucky a pointed look that screams 'see? See what you’re making us deal with?“

Bucky shuffles over to the fridge and gets an ice pack from the freezer, tentatively bringing it over to Tony and holding it out.

Tony looks at the ice pack, then at Bucky and says dryly, 'well I would have accepted scotch on the rocks, but this’ll work, I guess.” He takes the ice pack and winks at Bucky.

“I’m sorry,’ Bucky blurts before he can stop himself, "I didn’t mean to- I just-”

Tony interrupts, of course, 'it’s just scotch.“ No it isn’t. "Don’t worry. Grab me one now, and we’ll call it even.” He means that, and his eyes say everything unspoken between the lines, “Use the nice tumblers. You can even have one too, because I’m just that nice.” He smirks at Bucky, then raises his eyebrows, never breaking eye contact.

“Thank you,’ Bucky whispers hollowly, wrung out by Tony’s flippant and yet heartfelt acceptance of his apology.

"Like I said. It’s just scotch. Getting us scotch now will solve everything. Go.” Tony waves his hand and puts the icepack against his face.

Bucky shakily gets two tumblers of scotch for himself and Tony, bringing one back over to him and then turning to get out of Tony’s personal space.

“Whoa, woah woah,’ Tony complains, 'now you’re leaving me to drink scotch alone? That’s cold, even for the Winter Soldier.”

Natasha’s scoff breaks the silence of the other Avengers, reminding Bucky they're there. Before he can hyperfocus on the fact that this is happening, Tony cranes his neck to look at her expectantly where she sits in the bay window.

Bucky hesitantly sits down near Tony, and Tony scoffs back at Natasha when she makes no move to join them.

“You know what we need?’ he asks everyone and no one, "more Thor. JARVIS, where’s Thor?”

“Thor is on the roof, sir.” JARVIS responds immediately.

“Get him for me, wouldya, JARVIS?”

Thor shows up minutes later, beaming at the assembled.

“It is a glorious day that you return to us, friend Tony Stark! You are welcome home!” Thor tromps over, then spots the scotch. “Excellent! We will drink as friends and toast the future of the Avengers!”

“This is why Thor is my favorite,’ Tony tells the room, 'everyone grab a drink, we’re toasting!”

Without a second thought, the rest of the Avengers mob the mini-bar and find their drinks of choice. Bucky sits silently among them as Natasha settles on the arm of the couch he’s sitting on, Steve sits next to Tony, Bruce takes his own loveseat, and Thor flops unceremoniously down on the far end of the couch. Clint doesn’t sit, but leans cheerily against the back of the couch near Tony and Cap.

Tony lifts his scotch, 'to us, and all the shit that comes with being us!“

"Ah-men,’ Clint chuckles, leaning forward to knock his beer gently against Tony’s glass. They all clink glass together and Bucky thinks he is beginning to understand Tony Stark and his merry band a bit more. And maybe himself too, if he’s honest.

 

That night he finds Tony with his arms elbow-deep in the house circuits on the ground floor. He 'ahems’ and Tony jumps, turning and relaxing a bit when he sees who it is, "son of a bitch, Subzero. You secret ninjas the worst.”

“Look, Stark,’ Bucky jumps right into it, knowing the guy will just interrupt and stop him from saying what he needs to say. "I’m sorry,” he’s rehearsed this so many times, “I forgot it was you and I just remembered what they did to me. What they made me go through-’ this is where he chokes, every time, even in rehearsals.

"Bucky,’ Tony speaks clearly and firmly, looking him right in the eye and cutting off his descent into his own mind. "I get it, okay? It’s- well it’s not fine, but honestly none of us are fine and that makes it fine.”

“I’m not okay,’ Bucky continues, unable to stop the flood of emotion now that the dam cracked, 'I haven’t been okay. Steve thinks I’m okay-’

"Steve does not think that _you’re_ okay,’ Tony almost laughs, "he thinks _it’s_ okay. There’s a difference.”

Bucky stares at Tony Stark in his stupid nose-bandage and his dirty hands and his rolled up sleeves and his intelligent and frighteningly understanding eyes. He really looks at the man who engineered, designed and built this whole tower for the sole purpose of housing a bunch of misfit heroes. He sees the man who doesn’t blame him for his emotional scars and who has scars of his own inside and out. They're a lot alike, he imagines.

“Okay,’ he whispers and Tony nods once before sticking his hands back into the machinery and grinning over his shoulder at Bucky.

"Don’t worry, you’re actually doing great, everyone learns that I’m always right sooner or later- it took an entire battle with aliens to win Steve over. What’s a punch in the face, right? You’re going to be fine here.”

Bucky actually believes him.


End file.
